Latest news with #Paris2024
The Star
3 hours ago
- General
- The Star
Liek Hou grateful for award from King
Liek Hou: 'I am proud of this achievement. To me, it's like I have reached a different level because I have brought glory to the country on the international stage.' KUALA LUMPUR: National para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou is thankful for the Bintang Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) awarded to him in conjunction with the official birthday celebration of, King of Malaysia, at Istana Negara on Monday. Liek Hou described the award from Sultan Ibrahim as an extraordinary recognition of his badminton career. 'I am proud of this achievement. To me, it's like I have reached a different level because I have brought glory to the country on the international stage,' he said. Liek Hou was among 14 individuals who received the KMN award at the presentation of the 2025 federal awards, medals and honours in conjunction with His Majesty's official birthday. Currently, Liek Hou is focusing on his recovery process from a leg injury before returning to competitive action next year. The 37-year-old is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist, having emerged victorious in the men's SU5 category at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 editions. He has also won the world title 14 times in two categories - men's singles (eight times) and men's doubles (six times). — Bernama
The Sun
15 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
Liek Hou thankful for KMN award from King
NATIONAL para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou is thankful for the Bintang Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) he was awarded in conjunction with the official birthday celebration of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, at Istana Negara yesterday. Liek Hou described the award from Sultan Ibrahim as an extraordinary recognition of his badminton career. 'I am proud of this achievement. As everyone knows, His Majesty is very strict in giving out such awards and it's not easy to obtain. 'To me, it's like I have reached a different level because I have brought glory to the country on the international stage,' he said when contacted by Bernama today. Liek Hou was among 14 individuals who received the KMN award at the presentation of the 2025 federal awards, medals and honours in conjunction with His Majesty's official birthday. Liek Hou, at the same time, said he wishes to fully focus on his recovery process from a leg injury before returning to competitive action next year. The 37-year-old is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist, having emerged victorious in the men's SU5 category at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 editions. He has also won the world title 14 times in two categories - men's singles (eight times) and men's doubles (six times).
The Age
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
Finally: Joe Montemurro set to be unveiled as new Matildas coach
The Matildas long-running search for a new head coach is over, with Joe Montemurro set to be unveiled as the man tasked with delivering glory at next year's home Asian Cup. Montemurro was on Sunday released from his contract with leading French club Olympique Lyonnais, paving the way for his long-rumoured deal to become national team boss to be confirmed. Football Australia has scheduled a 10am press conference at Mrs Macquarie's Chair in Sydney with interim chief executive Heather Garriock, who has been leading the 10-month hunt for a successor to Tony Gustavsson. Montemurro, who had one year remaining on his deal with Lyon, is expected to be in attendance. The 55-year-old steered Lyon to this season's French title, adding to those he has won with Arsenal, Juventus and Melbourne City, but fell short of a UEFA Champions League final appearance after losing their semi-final to the Gunners. He has previously been considered for the Matildas job but lost out to Gustavsson, who departed after Australia's dismal Paris 2024 campaign, in the last process five years ago. It means Monday night's friendly against Argentina will be the last in charge for Tom Sermanni, whose tenure as caretaker coach has stretched for almost nine months - frustrating players who have been eager for direction as the Asian Cup fast approaches. Montemurro will then be in a position to take the reins for his first match later this month, when the Matildas face Slovenia in another friendly at HBF Park in Perth. Arsenal star Caitlin Foord, one of a handful of Matildas who has played under Montemurro, told this masthead in April that the team felt like it was 'wasting time' ahead of the Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1, with no full-time coach in place.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Finally: Joe Montemurro set to be unveiled as new Matildas coach
The Matildas long-running search for a new head coach is over, with Joe Montemurro set to be unveiled as the man tasked with delivering glory at next year's home Asian Cup. Montemurro was on Sunday released from his contract with leading French club Olympique Lyonnais, paving the way for his long-rumoured deal to become national team boss to be confirmed. Football Australia has scheduled a 10am press conference at Mrs Macquarie's Chair in Sydney with interim chief executive Heather Garriock, who has been leading the 10-month hunt for a successor to Tony Gustavsson. Montemurro, who had one year remaining on his deal with Lyon, is expected to be in attendance. The 55-year-old steered Lyon to this season's French title, adding to those he has won with Arsenal, Juventus and Melbourne City, but fell short of a UEFA Champions League final appearance after losing their semi-final to the Gunners. He has previously been considered for the Matildas job but lost out to Gustavsson, who departed after Australia's dismal Paris 2024 campaign, in the last process five years ago. It means Monday night's friendly against Argentina will be the last in charge for Tom Sermanni, whose tenure as caretaker coach has stretched for almost nine months - frustrating players who have been eager for direction as the Asian Cup fast approaches. Montemurro will then be in a position to take the reins for his first match later this month, when the Matildas face Slovenia in another friendly at HBF Park in Perth. Arsenal star Caitlin Foord, one of a handful of Matildas who has played under Montemurro, told this masthead in April that the team felt like it was 'wasting time' ahead of the Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1, with no full-time coach in place.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Finally, men have been banned from punching women in the face
It's hardly surprising, I think you'll agree, that it attracted my attention. Of all the memorable moments that came out of Paris 2024 last summer, perhaps the most, for all the wrong reasons, was Imane Khelif's boxing gold medal. Khelif's win turned out to be one of the most controversial victories in recent Olympic Games history, and became one of the most widely-covered and most commented-upon stories of Paris 2024. Khelif was fighting in the women's category but was, it was reported, biologically male. The allegations stemmed from the fact that the Algerian had been banned from competing in the women's event at the previous year's World Championships due to sex tests suggesting the presence of male chromosomes. Despite this, though, she had been cleared to fight at the Olympics due to the IOC going by whatever gender is on an athlete's passport. Khelif won gold in Paris, but her victory was entirely overshadowed by the controversy over her participation. Her second round opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, lasted 46 seconds of the fight before quitting, claiming post-fight that she had never been hit so hard in her life and she threw in the towel because she felt she had to 'preserve her life'. Khelif progressed through the Olympic boxing tournament and, with every victory, the outcry over her participation grew louder and louder. Imane Khelif became Olympic champion last summer (Image: Getty Images) Her critics said she was biologically male and so had no right to box in the women's tournament. She was, they claimed, putting females fighters' lives at risk and was making a mockery of the fairness of sport. Khelif's supporters asserted she had been born female and brought up as a female and so had every right to box as a woman. The Algerian threatened legal action against anyone who claimed, wrongfully she said, that she was male. What came out of Paris 2024 was that the evident absence of definitive rules surrounding any female athletes with gender questions hanging over them were far too loose. The question of who is male and who is female shouldn't, in theory, be particularly hard to answer. But those in charge of the sport displayed a complete dereliction of duty by ensuring that Khelif was engulfed in a storm about her gender. I assumed, as I think did many, that despite Khelif's protestations post-Paris that she would not just 'disappear', we wouldn't hear much from the Algerian for quite some time. How wrong I was. Khelif believed that, next week and less than 12 months after winning Olympic gold, she would be back in competitive action. The 26-year-old was scheduled to fight in the Eindhoven Box Cup - the women's event, of course - and as the tournament start date approached, the storm that engulfed her during the Olympics began to blow up once again. The confusion over Khelif's gender has not been helped by the opaque way the boxing authorities treated any information they'd gathered on her, as well as on Lin Yu-Ting, a fighter from Taiwan who also reportedly failed the same gender test as Khelif prior to Paris 2024, and who also went on to win Olympic gold last summer. The International Boxing Association, which ran the 2023 World Championships and ordered the disqualifications of the two fighters two years ago, said in a statement that the disqualifications came after 'the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test.' The specifics of the tests remain confidential but the IBA added that the results 'conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.' That seems relatively conclusive to me, yet it seemed we were preparing to watch Khelif fight women once again. That she has been keen to fan the flames hasn't helped the situation. 'I see myself as a girl just like any other girl,' Khelif said in a recent interview. 'I was born a girl, raised as a girl, and have lived my entire life as one,' and a PR company enlisted by Khelif to work on her behalf reinforced this message, posting on Instagram earlier this week: 'When Imane lands a hit, enemy egos are sent straight to the graveyard.' It's hard to argue that this kind of inflammatory rhetoric is in the interest of anyone; not the other female fighters, not the sport and not Khelif herself. A last-minute intervention by the sport's recently installed global governing body, World Boxing, however, means Khelif will have to undergo sex-testing if she wants to compete next week, or in any subsequent tournament. Her withdrawal from next week's event in the Netherlands now seems inevitable, thus avoiding the inevitable backlash that would have exploded as soon as her first punch landed. The point that I made last summer still stands, though; by having such opaque and loose rules, the issue becomes about one individual, in this case Khelif. This is a wider issue than one single boxer but the lack of leadership remains the primary problem and leads to one, lone person becoming the centre of a story that is, in fact, about more than merely a single fighter. World Boxing's new ruling may have come late, but better late than never. And so, a year on from Paris 2024, we're finally, and thankfully, seeing men being stopped from punching women in the face. AND ANOTHER THING… The defeat of Josh Taylor by Ekow Essuman in Glasgow last weekend was both surprising and sad to watch. Taylor is one of Scotland's greatest-ever athletes - in becoming the undisputed light-welterweight champion of the world, Taylor joined a select group of fighters globally who have achieved such a feat. However, his defeat last weekend was his third loss in a row and such has been his inactivity, he's not won a competitive bout for over three years. Where Taylor goes now is interesting; does he persist with his comeback and fight what appears to be a losing battle to regain the form that saw him become the very best in the world? Taylor was defeated last weekend (Image: Steve Welsh/PA Wire) Or does he call it quits and hang up his gloves knowing he's in the record books as the most successful Scottish fighter ever? There's no easy answer for the 34-year-old and he's already said he's not going to make any rash decisions. Unless he truly believes he can return to the very top of boxing, I don't think we'll see him step into a ring again. If he retains the desire and the belief, though, there's every chance he will fight again. Either way, Taylor's record affords him as much time he needs to decide where his future lies. And whatever his decision, his record in the ring means he will go down as one of Scotland's true greats.
